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Games to play long distance: phone, FaceTime and text

Distance makes conversation harder in a sneaky way: you run out of “what did you do today”. Games fix that. They give you something to do together, a reason to laugh and, often, a new way to learn about each other. Here are the ones that work over a video call, over text and on your phones — most need nothing at all.

What makes a good long-distance game

• Turns, not reflexes. A bad connection shouldn’t decide who wins.
• Zero setup. If you need twenty minutes to get it running, you won’t play it on a Tuesday night.
• Talking built in. The best games make you explain, guess or tell stories — that is the point of the call.
• A score to keep. A running tally over weeks gives you a small shared story and a reason for a rematch.

Games for a video call (FaceTime, WhatsApp, Zoom)

• Describe and draw. One of you finds a picture online and describes it without showing it; the other draws on paper. Hold the drawings up to the camera at the end. The misunderstandings are the best part.
• Twenty questions. Think of a person, place or thing; the other has twenty yes-or-no questions to find it.
• Pictionary on paper. Draw on paper and hold it to the camera, or use a shared online whiteboard. Our list of games like Pictionary has word ideas.
• Guess the room. Walk around with your camera very close to objects; your partner guesses what they are.
• Would you rather. Take turns inventing impossible choices — and defending your answer.
• Watch and rate. Start the same short film or episode at the same time and give it scores out of ten afterwards.

Games to play over text

• Two truths and a lie. Three statements about yourself; the other finds the lie. Great for new couples.
• Emoji story. Tell your day only in emoji; the other retells it in words.
• One sentence each. Write a story together, one sentence per message. It goes somewhere unexpected every time.
• Word association. Reply with the first word that comes to mind, fast. Stop when someone hesitates.
• This or that. Rapid-fire choices: sea or mountains, morning or night, cats or dogs.
• Guess the picture. Send an extreme close-up photo of something in your room.

Phone games for two

When you want an actual game with rules and a score, pick one that is turn-based or has short rounds, so it survives a bad connection and a busy day.

• Word games like Words With Friends — slow, turn-based, perfect for playing through the day.
• Chess and board-game apps — correspondence mode lets you move whenever you have a minute.
• Trivia apps — play the same quiz and compare scores. Try our famous paintings quiz as a warm-up.
• Speakasso duels — you both describe the same famous painting in 20 seconds, AI paints both descriptions, and you see side by side whose words painted it better. Send your partner a link in any messenger, and your head-to-head score is kept for the rematch.

Make it a ritual

Games work best in long-distance relationships when they become a small fixed thing: Sunday evening quiz, a Wednesday duel, a story you add to every morning. It is not about the game itself. It is about having something that is yours, that you both look forward to, and that doesn’t depend on having news to share.

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